I am so torn up over this. I am worried about my VHS tapes. I need to know what can damage them. Heat, cold, vibration from my stereo speakers, the magnets in my speakers, the smoke from my cigarette - oh god the list goes on. I have been told so much and I don't know who to believe anymore. I figured someone here would know.
See, I would love to get DVD but I haven't the money And besides that wouldn't help me out on the shows I get off T.V.

As you can see I am all turned around so please don't flame me.
I have spent so much time, effort and a whole lot of money on these tapes so if something were to happen to them I would just die. This is like what defines my life - AMV's.

Thanks so much for at least reading this.

Oh, and I'm sorry if this is the wrong forum for this question. I wasn't sure where to put this [/i]

A Video CD. Most burners support them. Each VCD can hold 72 minutes of video (You can use CD-Rs to make them) and most can play on any DVD player and any computer. Nero includes the ability to make VCDs on the fly from avi files (Mpegs are easier though) Just use a capture card to grab your video and you can make copies. I'm sure there's some guides on it on the site some where.

My Profile There are only 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Seriously, though, if you are that concerned about them, a backup procedure like what Petro recommended is a good idea. VCDs aren't as vulnerable as a VHS tape is, though you still need to be careful about not scratching the disc.

Another way: just keep them in a somewhat secure location. You don't have to get a hermetically sealed, sterilized box, but anything that does a decently good job of protecting tapes from most heat, sunlight, and contaminants will ensure a good lifespan for those things.

As Dark Angel put it(the fox show which I hope is cancelled)... people "had money hanging out their asses, but when the EMP hit it was all zeros" and she is just so fucking awesome with her shitastic bike ...fuck her and her worthless xena warrior like FX, oh and buffy can also go stuff a cucumber... and stuff because he has a pointless ass of a show too..